Motor-vehicle steering-gear.



PATBNTED JUNE 18, 19o?.r l

W. E. SLATBR. MOTOR VEHIGLLy STEERING GEAR;

l No. 857,494.

PLIOAT'I N 31. 1 AP 0 FILED MAY 906 2SHEET8 SHEBT 1;

INVENTOH No. 857,494. l v PATENTED W. E. SLA'I'ER.

MoToP. VEHICLE STEERING GEAR.

l APPLICATION FILED MAY 31. 1906.

lJUNE 1s. 19o-2, l

,2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A TTOHNE YS WILLIAM EDWARD SLATER, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

Moron-VEHICLE*STEERING-GEAR.

Specification of Letters atent.

Patented June 18, 1907.

Application filed May 31, 1906. Serial No. 319.498;

To all w'lmml it may c0ncerm- Be it known that I, WiLLIAM EDWARD SLATER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of San Francisco, inthe county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented a new and Improved Motor-Vehicle Steering-Gear, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact'description.

My invention relates to a mechanism for steering automobiles by. means of iluidpressure.

In its preferred fembodiment the steering road wheels ofthe vehicle are connected with the motor cylinder, the admission or exhaust of Huid pressureto and from the same being under the control of a multiple valve placed within convenient reach of the driver of the machine, and the fluid pressure being stored in the reservoir which in turn is charged by a pump coupled with the engine of the vehicle or Witlisome other suitable driving element. I

The invention resides in certain'special features 'of construction and arrangement of parts, and all will be fully set forth hereinafter and,particularly pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings which illustrate as an example the preferred embodiment of my invention, in which drawings y l Figure 1 is a partial side view of a vehicle showing my invention applied; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the vcontrolling valve; Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 3a is a sectional view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the valve in charging adjustment; Fig. 4 is a cross section 011 the line 4--4 of Fig. 2 Fig. -5 is a rear elevation of the motor cylinder showing its connection lwith the steering road wheels Fig. 6 is a sectional plan view of the same ,.'and Fig. 7 is a cross section on the-line 7-7 of Fig. 5.

As shown best in Figs. and 6, the steering road wheels 10 of the vehicle are mounted on the axle 11` by the usual knuckles '12, with which knuckles arms 14 are connected and these in turn are joined by links 15 to the rod 16 of ya piston 17 operating in the motor cylinder 18. The rod 16 is guided in its transverse reciprocati on by means of brackets 19 carried bythe axle 11, and from this arrangement it is clear that as the piston 17 is moved in thecylinder 18 from one"end to the v' other, the wheels 10'Will be slued or canted' in one direction or the other according to the movement of the piston, whereby to steer the vehicle.

With each end of the cylinder 18 communicates a` pressure supply pipe 20, and an exhaust pipe 21,. Said supply pipe 20 is iitted with a check valve 22 which prevents the return of pressure `from the cylinder through the pipe, and these pipes 20 and 21 lead to the multiple controlling valve casing 23. Saidcasing is located in any convenient' point on the automobile or motor vehicle. As shown in Fig. 1 it is arranged under the seat of the driver, and as shown in Fig. 2 the valve casing incloses a plug 24 .having connected to its stem a handle 25, this handle carrying a spring pawl 26 Which coacts with a suitable quadrant 27 attached to the casing oi the valve, or to any other stationary part. y The two exhaust pipes 21 lead to the casing 23 at a point opposite the exhaust check valve 28 (see Figs. 2 and 4),

and the valve plug 24 is lprovided With passages 29 so that by rocking the valve to one position or the other the pipe 21 is placed in Acommunication with the check valve 28v which permits the exhaust of the pressure to the atmosphere. The two pressure supply' pipes 2O communicate with the casing 23 opposlte the pipe 30, which leads from the pressure reservoir 31. This communication of the pipes 20 with the casing 23 is shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 3, and the plug 24 of the valve rocking the valve pressure is permitted to enter one or the other of thepipes 20.

lug 24 of the valve is also provided `with iead supplying ports 33 which when the valve is 1n the intermediate position shown in Fig. 3 communicate respectively with the pressure supply pipes 20 and supply pressure thereto, making up for the leakage from the various fluid pressure connections. The reservoir 31 is mountedat any suitable point on the vehicle. As shown in Fig. 1 it is located under the floor of the vehicle body, and it is supplied by a pump 34 which may be driven from the engine or from any other suitable source. j

In the use ofthe apparatus in order to shift the steering road Wheels 10, the valve plug 24 should bethrown, for example, to the positionshown in Fig. 3a, thus admitting pressure to one of the pipes 20 byWhlch the pressure is led to the corresponding end of .is provided with a passage 32, so that by Said the cylinder 18 itis-permitted to exhaustfrom the other. Upon a reversal `of the valve a reversal of the disposition of pressure takes place, and consequently the movement of the piston 17 is reversed. In this manner the movement of thev piston, and hence the ad'ustment of the wheels 10, may be controlle at will. lUpon returning the valve plug 24 to its intermediate position the piston 17 and its connections will retain the positions to which they have been moved, and a small quantity of pressure is supplied to the ports 33 to account for leakage, thus insuring the maintenance of said parts in said position. It will be observed that the steerlng operation can be effected by merely throwing the handle 25 in operation, which requires a minimum expenditure of strength and, therefore, may be effected quickly and the extent of movement more accurately gaged than with a )paratus in which the steering must be 'e ected by correspondingly great expenditure of strength.

Having thus described the preferred form of my invention, what I actually claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A motor vehicle, comprising a motor cylinder, means for connecting said cylinder with the steering wheel or wheels of a vehicle, a source of pressure supply, means for controlling the passage of sa1d fluid to said cylinder, comprising a valve casing, a valve plug mounted therein and provided with a plurality of passages, supply pi es connecting certain of said passages wit the opposite ends of the cylinder, exhaust pipes connecting other of said passages with tb'e opposite ends of the cylinder, a pipe connecting the first mentioned passages with the source of fluid s upply, and a spring-pressed check valve 1n communication with the second mentioned passages.

2. In a device of the class described, a cylinder, a piston operating therein, a source of fluid pressure supply, a valve casing, a conduit connecting said .valve casing with the source of fluid pressure supply, a supply pipe and an exhaust pipe connectnig sald valve casing to each end of the cylinder, and a valve plug within said valve casing, provided with a plurality of passages therethrough adapted when in one position to connect the source 'of fluid supply to one side of the piston and permit the exhausting from the opposite side, and when in a second position to connect the source of fluid supply -to the second mentioned side of-the piston and permit the exhausting from the first mentioned side.

3. A motor vehicle having .a motor cylinder, a piston operating therein, connections -between the piston and the steering Wheel or Awheels of the vehlcle, a source of fluidpressages having a branch in communication with the source of fluid pressure supply and separate branches adapted to be alternately placed in communication with the separate supply conduits to the cylinder, and the second passage having one branch opened to the atmosphere and separate branches adapted to be alternately placed in communication ,with the separate exhaust conduits from the ends of the cylinder.

4. In a device ofthe class described, a motor cylinder, a source of fluid pressure supply, a valve casing, a conduit connecting said valve casing with the source of fluid pressure supply, separate conduits connecting said va ve casing with the opposite ends of the cylinder, and a valve plug within said valve casing and provided with a passage'therethrough, said passage having a branch in communication with the source of fluid pressure supply, secondary branches in communication with the first mentioned branch and each adapted to be placed in communication with one of the supply conduits to the cylinder, and smaller branches in communication with the first vmentioned branch and each normally communicating with supply conduits to the cylinder.

5. In a device of the class describedra cylinder, a source of fluid pressure supply, a valve casing, a conduit connecting said valve casing with the source of fluid pressure supply, a conduit connecting said casing with the atmosphere, a supply conduit and an exhaust conduit connecting said casing with each end of the cylinder, and a valve plug within the valve casing, said valve plug having a plurality of passages therein and adapted to normally supply motive fluid simultaneously to both ends of the cylinder, and when rotated to the proper position, to shut off the supply to either end and open the exhfalust from the opposite end to the atmosp ere.

'In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this application in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. p v

WILLIAM EDWARD SLATER. Witnesses:

HUGO A. HORNLEIN,

ROBERTA. MoLEAN.

IOO

IIO 

